Re: Failure to open TLshell texlive manage

Bernhard Kleine wrote:

> A fresh install via a iso from CTAN results in an error:
> 
> bad pag value "3pt": must be positive screen distance while executing
> 
> "pack $wdg {*}$args -padx 3pt -pady 3pt" (procedure "ppack" line 2) 
> invoked from with
> 
> "ppack .busy -in .endbuttons -side left" (procedure "populate_main" line 
> 143) invoked from within
> 
> "populate_main" (procedure "initialize" line 55) invoked from within
> 
> "initialze" (file 
> "C:\texlive\2025\texmf-dist\scripts\tlshell\tlshell.tcl" line 3131)

then later

> I updated the tlmgr and now everything seems to work.


If I understand correctly:

- You're on Windows (given the "C:\" in your path).

- You installed TeX Live 2025 from the ISO DVD, tlshell didn't work, returned the error message above.

- You applied updates with tlmgr on the command line, after that tlshell is working.

What I think happened is the following. TeX Live on Windows ships with a built-in Tcl/Tk

	https://svn.tug.org:8369/texlive/trunk/Master/source/tlgui/tltcl/

In TL 2025, Tcl/Tk was bumped to the new current version, 9.0, committed on February 24, from the earlier version 8.6

	https://svn.tug.org:8369/texlive?revision=74258&view=revision

Before that, on January 4, tlshell had been updated to work with this new version

	https://svn.tug.org:8369/texlive?revision=73297&view=revision

My impression is that at some point during your installation process, an earlier version of tlshell.tcl was used with the new Tcl/Tk 9.0, yielding the error message above. Indeed, "pack [...] -padx 3pt" is code from the old tlshell.tcl, replaced by "pack [...] -padx 3p" in the new.

Then tlmgr updated tlshell.tcl, and all was right afterwards.

Why I'm saying the above: I'm on macOS, which (the OS, not TeX Live) ships with a built-in obsolete Tcl/Tk 8.5 (announced several years ago to be removed, but still there). tlshell doesn't work with it: tlshell launches, but its window is a big black box.

As soon as Tcl/Tk 9.0 was released (in Beta) on January 2024, I built it. tlshell then gave the error

	% sudo tlshell
	Password:
	Error in startup script: bad screen distance "5pt"
	   while executing
	".bg configure -padding 5pt"
	   (procedure "populate_main" line 138)
	   invoked from within
	"populate_main"
	   (procedure "initialize" line 55)
	   invoked from within
	"initialize"
	   (file "/Library/TeX/texbin/tlshell" line 3128)

very similar to yours.

What your messages say is that, starting from TeX Live 2025, tlshell supports Tcl/Tk 9.0. I didn't know that. Indeed, downloading Tcl/Tk 9.0.2 from <https://www.tcl-lang.org/> and compiling it, tlshell does work with it on the Mac (see below). Thanks for leading to that realization!

Bruno Voisin